Information Services

Office 2010 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

A lot of the information previously published under the Office 2007 FAQs is still applicable for Office 2010, and selecting a link in the following Office 2010 FAQs may take you to the Office 2007 FAQs (so simply use your browser BACK button to get back to the current Office 2010 FAQs).

If you are still using Office 2003, and you wish to migrate to Office 2010, you are advised to first read the Office 2007 FAQs.

Be aware, however, that the OFFICE button of Office 2007 has now been replaced with a FILE tab in Office 2010.

If you are an existing Office 2007 user, then the following FAQs will be of interest. Note, however, that a number of new features of Office 2010 require access to Microsoft Sharepoint Servers. At the current time, such features will not be available to Cardiff University Office 2010 users.

Known problems which are not covered above

Learning resources and training for Office 2010

What is Office 2010?

This is the latest office productivity suite provided by Microsoft, available in Welsh and English language versions. It consists of:

Word 2010

Excel 2010

PowerPoint 2010

Access 2010

Publisher 2010

OneNote 2010

Other components are available to be installed (e.g. InfoPath and Outlook)

It continues with the Ribbon User Interface first introduced in Office 2007, which is a task-oriented Graphical User Interface. Note that the Office Button, previously released with Office 2007, has now been replaced with an enhanced FILE button.

New features are included in this update, and some features of earlier versions have been removed; therefore it is important to be aware that compatibility issues exist. If you are an existing Office 2003 user then see the section Should I use Office 2007? in the Office 2007 FAQs, and also check the Known Problems section for further details regarding Office 2007 and 2010.

The file formats introduced in Office 2007 continue in Office 2010:

.docx - Word 2010

.xlsx - Excel 2010 workbook

.pptx - PowerPoint 2010 presentation

.accdb - Access 2010

Note, however, that OneNote 2010 has introduced a new file format.

Installing Office 2010 will remove previous versions of Office. However, a roll-back to restore Office 2003 will be possible if required by staff (but not in open access workstation and pool rooms).

You will be able to save files in different formats from within the application, e.g. 97-2003 format, so that previous older versions of Office can still read files created in Office 2010 (though they will not contain the new features of Office 2010).

What's new in Office 2010?

Office 2010 builds on the foundation that was established in 2007 Microsoft Office by including the ribbon in all Office applications and by adding a new feature to the ribbon, the Microsoft Office Backstage view. This is optimized for efficiency and discoverability through the layout of commands that are organized into tabs that group related commands together.

The Backstage view replaces the Office button of Office 2007. The Backstage view is accessed by clicking the File tab. It helps users discover and use the features that are not part of the ribbon, such as sharing, printing, and publishing tools. The Backstage view lets you see all the information about a document in one place. In addition, the Backstage view provides contextual information. For example:

A workbook has a disabled macro in it, which is necessary for the file to work correctly, and the macro is blocked to protect your computer. You can view the contextual information about the macro and enable the macro by using the Info tab in the File tab.

A document that was created in an earlier version of Office is opened in Compatibility mode and some rich new features are disabled. You can view the status of the document and convert the document to the latest version (if you want to use those features) by using the Info tab in the File tab.

Office 2010 has improved functionality in many areas. As stated earlier, the ribbon is now available across all products of the Office 2010 suites, so moving from one application to another is seamless. Two new features added to the ribbon interface are tab activation and auto-scaling. Tab activation lets you activate a tab (bring a tab to the foreground) on demand. Auto-scaling enables ribbon groups to adapt their layout to best match the horizontal window size.

In Office 2010, the ribbon tabs can be easily customized by any user, without using programmatic means. To customize the commands listed on the ribbon, follow these steps:

Click the File tab

Click Options, and then select Customize Ribbon

Choose the commands that you want to add or remove from the ribbon.

In addition to changes in the ribbon, the Office 2010 suite's background is now a grey colour by default, whereas the 2007 Office system background was blue.

A complete revamp of the PRINT dialogue (via the File tab that replaced the Office button of Office 2007) has occurred.

The following has been removed from Office 2010:

Microsoft Office Document Imaging application

Microsoft Office Document Scanning application

Office Startup Assistant (Osa.exe)

Office Diagnostics tool – a repair should now be done via the Control Panel. (To repair Office 2010 in the event of problems, open the Control Panel and select add/remove programs. Find MS Office 2010 application, click on it and select change, then select the repair option.)

Support for MSXML version 5

Research and Reference pane for Internet Explorer.

Finally, Office 2010 has provided a mini translator to translate words or phrases. This includes a Play button so you can hear an audio pronunciation of the word or phrase, and a Copy button so you can paste the translation into another document. The mini translator is only available in OneNote 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2010, and Word 2010. More information on the mini translator is available.

What's new in Word 2010?

General

New Protected View

Files from a potentially unsafe location (such as the Internet or an email attachment) or files that contain active content (such as macros, data connections, or ActiveX controls) are validated and can open in Protected View. When you open files in Protected View mode, the editing functions are disabled. You can open and edit files from trusted sources by clicking Enable Editing. You can also explore data about the files in the Backstage view.

When a file is opened by an Office program, such as Word 2010, in the protected view mode, you will see a notification like the one shown below:

Clicking the Enable Editing button will open the file in the normal mode so you can edit the file. A file can be opened in Protected View by either:

Within Word by selecting Open in Protected View by using the down arrow button of the Open dialog box

Outside of Word by holding down the SHIFT key, right-clicking a file name, and then selecting Open in Protected View.

Compatibility Checker/Mode

Also featured in 2007, it continues with Word 2010 and lists elements in a document that are not supported or that will behave differently in Word 2007 or in Word 97-2003 format. Some of these features will be permanently changed and will not be converted to Word 2010 elements, even if you later convert the document to Word 2010 format.

To determine which mode the document is in, check the document's title bar. If (Compatibility Mode) appears after the file name, the document is in either Word 2007 Compatibility Mode or Word 97-2003 Compatibility Mode. To determine which, do the following:

Click the File tab

Click Info

In the Prepare for Sharing section, click Check for Issues, and then click Check Compatibility

Click Select versions to show. A check mark appears next to the name of the mode that the document is in.

You can work in Compatibility Mode or you can convert your document to the Word 2010 file format. The Word Convert command clears the compatibility options so that the document layout appears as it would if it had been created in Word 2010. If the file is in .doc format, the Convert command also upgrades the file to the .docx format.

Converting your document lets you access the new and enhanced features in Word 2010. However, people who are using earlier versions of Word might be prevented from or have difficulty editing certain portions of the document that were created by using new or enhanced features in Word 2010.

Clicking on the File tab, you can do the following:

To convert the document without saving a copy, click Info, and then click Convert.

To create a new copy of the document in Word 2010 mode, click Save As, type a new name for the document in the File name box, and click Word Document in the Save As type list.

Recover unsaved work

It is now easier to recover a Word document if you close your file without saving, or if you want to review or return to an earlier version of the file you are already working in. As with earlier versions of Word, enabling AutoRecover will save versions while you are working in your file at the interval you select.

Now, you can keep the last autosaved version of a file in case you accidentally close that file without saving, so that you can easily restore it the next time that you open the file. Also, while you are working in your file, you can access a list of the autosaved files from the Microsoft Office Backstage view, as follows:

Open the document you need to recover in Word 2010

Select File, and then Info

Under Manage Versions, you will see any number of entries but one will say <when closed without saving> after the date and time. That is your last autosaved version. Select that version

Select Restore in the yellow banner at the top of the recovered document. (These settings are already available by default for saving last autosave).

Cut, copy, and paste

These are the most common ways to move content between applications. As in Word 2007, Word 2010 can copy and paste content in many formats. Word 2010 has many options available at paste time through the Preview before you paste.

RTF file format

The RTF file format is no longer enhanced to include new features and functionality. Features and functionality that are new to Word 2010 and future versions of Word are lost when they are saved in RTF. In addition, Word 2010 supports a new converter interface based on Open XML Formats.

Screen Clipping

Capture screenshots from the INSERT tab (document needs to be in .docx format to have screen shot enabled, otherwise it will be greyed out).

Enhanced Themes

Word 2010 now comes with various newly enhanced themes, and you may apply any theme from the Page Layout menu. The live previews feature is also available, by clicking the theme buttons you will see a gallery which represents the available themes as thumbnail images.

Artistic Effects

In Word 2010 users can now apply a number of artistic effects to the pictures. In order to add the artistic effects to your document, navigate to the following option:

Insert > Illustrations > Picture

Then browse and select the picture you want. Once the picture is added to your document, the Picture Tools contextual tab is displayed and you will be able to see the new Artistic Effects drop down button.

Improved Spell Checks

Word 2010 has added some new features to its spell checker - it will now detect the mistake and suggest changing the sentence.

What's new in PowerPoint 2010?

Organize slides

Organize large slide decks to be more manageable and easier to navigate by using sections.

Merge and compare presentations

This feature is useful when you want to compare two presentations just to see what differences exist, without the optional goal of saving the combined (merged) presentation.

Work with separate PowerPoint presentation files in different windows

You can run multiple presentations on a single monitor, side-by-side. Your presentations are not bound by a main or parent window any longer, so you now have a great way to reference one presentation while working on another. Also, you can use the new Reading view to show two presentations in a slide show in separately managed windows simultaneously, with full animation effects and full media support.

Video, photo editing additions and enhancements

There are plenty of these! Additionally, transitions and animations have separate tabs and are smoother and richer than ever. There are some new photo-based additions to SmartArt graphics.

Sharing presentations more effectively

You can make your presentations portable for sharing via embedded video and audio files, and turn presentation in to a video (for use via email or DVD/CD).

Mouse laser pointer

Turn your mouse into a laser pointer (in Slide Show view, simply hold down CTRL and at the same time hold down the left mouse button, and begin pointing).

Unsupported file save types

The macro recorder, used to automate frequent tasks, is not available in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010. Instead, you can use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). To create or edit a macro by using Visual Basic for Applications, use the following steps (you can show the Developer tab if it is not available):

On the Developer tab, in the Code group, click Macros

In the Macro dialog box, in the Macro name box, type a name for the macro

In the Macro in list, click the template or the presentation that you want to store the macro in

In the Description box, type a description for the macro

Click Create to open Visual Basic for Applications

Note: If you created a macro in a version of PowerPoint earlier than Office PowerPoint 2007 by using the macro reader, use Visual Basic for Applications to edit the macro.

Excel functions have been updated, renamed, or added to the function library in Excel 2010

A new Accessibility Checker tool

New Sparklines and Slicers for custom reports and pivot tables

Insert captured screenshots onto your worksheet

Accessibility Checker

The new Accessibility Checker tool in Excel 2010 enables you to find and fix issues that can make it difficult for people with disabilities to read or interact with your workbook.

Backward compatibility with earlier versions of Excel

You can use one of several ways to exchange workbooks between the different versions:

Work in Compatibility Mode. You can open a workbook that was created in an earlier version of Excel and work in Compatibility Mode so that the workbook remains in a file format that can easily be opened again in the earlier version. Compatibility mode is not available for Excel 2007 workbooks.

You can use file converters (already available for Cardiff users) to open an Excel 2010 workbook in an earlier version of Excel.

Check a workbook for compatibility. If you want to work in the current file format but have to share a workbook with people who use earlier versions of Excel, you can check that the data is compatible with earlier versions of Excel. You can then make the necessary changes to avoid the loss of data or fidelity that might occur when that workbook is opened in an earlier version of Excel.

What's new in Access 2010?

General

Discontinued features and modified functionality

Examples include the following:

The Snapshot format (.snp) is a portable format that can be used to view Access reports on computers that do not have Access installed. Access 2010 users will not be able to export their reports to the Snapshot format. You can export your reports in the XPS or PDF formats, or you can export to other Office programs such as Word or Excel.

The Microsoft Calendar control (mscal.ocx) is not available in Access 2010. Opening an application from an earlier version of Access where the control was used will generate an error message in Access 2010, and the control will not appear. An alternative is to use the date picker control in Access 2010.

Data access pages (beginning with Office Access 2007) and the ability to create, modify, or import data access pages was no longer supported. However, data access pages in an Office Access 2007 database would still function. By using Access 2010, you can open a database that includes data access pages. However, the data access pages will not function. When you attempt to open a data access page, you will receive an error message that states that Microsoft Office Access does not support this operation for Data Access pages.

What's new in Publisher 2010?

A simplified and cleaner workspace

In the new workspace, users will see object boundaries only when they want them (for example, when they pause on or select an object), and alignment guides when they need them (for example, as they drag an object). Users can also move from page to page quickly by using the new page navigation pane, which displays single-page or double-page thumbnails.

An integrated print and preview experience

Print and Print Preview are integrated so that it is easier for users to get a more accurate view of what their publications will look like when they are printed. This includes the ability to make print adjustments while viewing the effect of the changes in a large preview of their publication.

Users can view multiple pages at the same time, view page boundaries, page numbers, and sheet rulers while in print preview, and even view a simulation of a two-sided document as if it were held up to a light - to see the front and back at the same time, as the publication will look when printed.

Improved picture technology

Users can more easily work with pictures in their publications with the following picture technology improvements:

Cropping - Rotate and resize pictures, crop them into non-rectangular shapes, and preview the images while keeping the picture in the desired size, shape, and location

Replacing pictures - Users can replace pictures by drag-and-drop, swap two pictures in a single operation, and paste pictures copied outside from Publisher into a placeholder in Publisher

Using picture placeholders - Users can maintain placeholder dimensions when a picture is inserted. For example, pictures either too small or too large for a placeholder are automatically resized

Add captions - Users can now add captions to their pictures, choosing from a gallery of caption designs and layouts, and make changes easily.

Object alignment

Users can use visual alignment guides to align objects to other objects or text, but can ultimately determine where they want to place their objects. This includes the ability to offset-align an object.

Improved access to templates and building blocks online

Users can use templates and insert building blocks of content (for example, mastheads, borders, and graphics) to create professional-looking pages. Publisher 2010 makes it easier for users to access the Publisher online community to get pre-built templates and building blocks, and share ones they create.

Catalog merge

This lets users merge text and images from a database (such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, or Microsoft Outlook) and is more easily accessed through the UI. Users will be able to initiate catalog merge at any point while making their publications.

Removed items include:

Web mode. Creating new websites and web publications is not available in Publisher 2010. However, users can still edit web publications created in an earlier version of Publisher. Publisher 2010 does not display a folder of website templates, or a user interface access point to change a publication to web mode. However, users see a web mode tab when they open a web publication created in an earlier version of Publisher.

Outdated application settings. Users no longer have access to several settings that were available in Tools > Options. This includes changes to the following dialog boxes: Spelling options, Customize, Service options, and several tabs in Options. This also includes removal of or changes to the following in Settings: Show basic colors in color palette, Show TipPages + Reset Tips button, Show underline for merge fields and business information fields, Automatically synchronize formatting, and Use a wizard for blank publications.

What's new in OneNote 2010?

New file format

The OneNote 2010 file format enables new features, such as linked note-taking, mathematical equations, and versioning. OneNote 2010 will continue to work on Office OneNote 2007 notebooks without changing to the new file format. By default, notebooks are not upgraded. Do not upgrade notebooks if you plan to share them with Office OneNote 2007 users.

To change an existing notebook to the OneNote 2010 notebook format, use the Notebook Properties dialog box: Click the File tab, click the Settings drop-down menu, and then click Properties, or right-click the Notebook and click Properties.

General improvements include:

Improved organization and search features

Section and page tab improvements

The ability to easily add links to content within other content - for example, pages, sections, or section groups - and to quickly navigate through these links. This enables you to create Wiki-like notebooks

Quick Filing feature, which lets you choose where in your notebook you want to send.

Editing improvements include:

Quick Styles for creating and applying headings

Support for mathematical equations

Formatting improvements for bulleted lists

Research and note-taking improvements

Automatic text wrapping

Docked OneNote

Information Rights Management (IRM) protected printouts.

Task pane replacements include:

Customize My Tags. Replaced by a dialog box in the Fluent UI

New. Options in the New task pane are available in the New section of the File tab

Font. Options are available in the Basic Text group on the Home tab on the ribbon

Bullets. Replaced by the Bullets gallery in the new Basic Text group on the Home tab. The ability to change all bullets at a specific level is removed.

Removed items include:

Outlining features and body text. The Outlining toolbar, including the Make Body Text option, is removed in Microsoft OneNote 2010. The ability to increase and decrease indentations and expand or collapse text is available through other user interface entry points and keyboard shortcuts

SimpleImporter API. The SimpleImporter API was introduced in Microsoft Office 2003, and was replaced by another API in the 2007 Microsoft Office system, although it remained available to the few users who still needed it. The SimpleImporter API is completely removed in Microsoft OneNote 2010.

Create Outlook Appointment and Create Outlook Contact. The Create Outlook Appointment and Create Outlook Contact functionalities are no longer available

Task Panes removed. The List and Document Management task panes are removed from Microsoft OneNote 2010. The functionality is no longer available, and the user interface entry points are removed. New features in OneNote 2010 provide more functionality than these rarely used features.

How do I change the language setup of Office 2010?

What proofing languages are there in Office 2010 and how do I select them?

The additional proofing languages that can be installed from the network for use by Office 2010 are French, German and Spanish. These can be installed via Principle Applications, MS Office 2010, MS Office 2010 Proofing Tools.

To proof in these languages, follow these steps:

Select the text for which you would like to change the proofing language

From the Review tab of the ribbon, select Click Language, Set Proofing Language…

Choose the language and select OK - if you require this for other documents, set it as default.

If items are not being picked up as incorrect, try the following before re-proofing your document:

Select FILE tab, Options, Proofing

Under the section When correcting spelling and grammar in Word, click on the RECHECK DOCUMENT button (then Yes to the pop up window).

Other languages are available, for example Chinese, but you will need to install them first by going to add/remove programs and then 'Change' the MS Office Proofing Tools Kit 2010 item, followed by add or remove features. You will need to have administrator privileges to install these extra proofing languages.

The following example shows how to install the Greek proofing language, but this can equally apply to any other language.

A. Install Greek proofing Language

1. Start > Control Panel > Programs (uninstall a program)

2. Click to highlight the item:

Microsoft Office Proofing Tools Kit Compilation 2010

3. Select the CHANGE button

4. Select "Add or Remove Features" radio button, then Continue.

5. Click on the "+" sign to expand items listed under Office Shared Features

6. Click on the "+" sign to expand the Proofing Tools item

7. Next to the Greek item, click on the down arrow in the box to enable "Run all from my computer"

How do I change Office 2010 to a Welsh interface version?

A Welsh Language interface is only available for the Office 2010 components Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote and Outlook. Change to the Welsh interface as follows:

On XP only (as already available on Windows 7), install the Welsh Language interface (Start, Networked Applications, General Software, Principle Applications, Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft Office 2010 Welsh Language Interface). When this has been installed, use the following steps:

What is the Send to OneNote 2010 printer queue?

What is the Microsoft XPS Document Writer printer queue?

How can I 'roll-back' to Office 2003 from Office 2010?

Office 2010 can be removed and a roll-back to Office 2003 is available from the network (Networked Applications, General Software, Principle Applications, Remove MS Office 2010).

When using the roll-back application from Office 2010 to Office 2003, you may experience the error message 'A dependent application failed to install'. This is being investigated, but for now you can safely ignore this error as it does not affect the roll-back.

You should now find that EndNote and Microsoft Word work together correctly, with the required EndNote tools appearing in the EndNote X4 tab at the top of the screen in Microsoft Word.

It is strongly recommended that you always begin a work session by opening EndNote from the Start button - then open your EndNote library from within the EndNote program by using the File, Open command in EndNote. Finally, open Microsoft Word from the Start menu. This will help to ensure that the two programs work together properly.

Can I run Office 2003 and 2010 on the same workstation?

Why am I getting a MACRO and other SECURITY error messages and how do I fix it?

You may obtain security warning relating to macros and ActiveX controls. Office 2010 will disable all macros unless one of two criteria are met - either the macro was created by the copy of the program installed on your computer or the macro has a digital signature from a trusted source.

Typically you will get a message like this:

Note that Office 2010 will generate a macro warning for the Welsh spelling and grammar checking add-in programs Cysgeir and Cysill, as well as Course Genie. In this particular case, they should already exist in the Trusted Zone, but have to be enabled. This can be done in Word 2010 by following these steps:

Click on the FILE tab and select Options from the left pane

From the menu on the left, select Trust Centre

Click on the Trust Centre Settings button on the right

Select Trusted Locations from the menu that appears on the left

Tick the Allow Trusted Locations on my network checkbox

Click OK to return to the Trust Centre dialog and then OK twice more to return to the main Word screen

Exit from Word (FILE tab, Exit) and then restart Word to fix this specific problem.

Why can't I make use of Office 2010 updated features that use Sharepoint?

Who do I contact for further assistance with Office 2010?

If you have not been able to solve an Office 2010 query from using these FAQs or using the online Help within each Office 2010 application, further assistance is available from the Information Services IT Service Desk (Tel: 029 2087 4487, Email: insrvConnect@cardiff.ac.uk).

Known problems which are not covered above

Office 2010

Installing Office 2010 will result in any personal customisations that were made in earlier versions being reset to default.

In Office 2010, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) 6.0 was updated to VBA 7.0. VBA 7.0 settings were reset to their defaults after migration instead of automatically repopulating. This occurred because the registry settings for VBA are in a different hive in Office 2010.

When using the roll-back application from Office 2010 to Office 2003, you may experience the error message 'A dependent application failed to install'. This is being investigated, but for now you can safely ignore this error as it does not affect the roll-back.

When importing high resolution pictures into Office 2010, this will be only done in low resolution by default. In order to use high resolution pictures, change settings as follows:

PowerPoint 2010

"PowerPoint cannot insert a video from the selected file" error when you try to insert an MPEG-2 video into a PowerPoint 2010 presentation. A workaround is available.

Since the release of Office 2007, Excel has replaced Microsoft Graph as the software that handles the charting functions within PowerPoint. It has many advantages over Microsoft Graph, as all of the functionality to which the Excel users are accustomed is now available right within PowerPoint charts.

Right-clicking and selecting Edit Chart launches Excel and keeps it as a live chart within PowerPoint. No longer are Excel charts pasted in as non-editable pictures, or embedded objects that do not match the styles and colours of your PowerPoint charts. This "new" integration allows for maintaining a consistent format and style throughout your MS Office documents.

Learning resources and training for Office 2010

As well as the online Help available from within the applications themselves, Microsoft has also provided a number of excellent online resources for Office 2010. These are available from the Microsoft website.

If you are an Office 2003 user then you will need to learn where the new commands are located - have a look at these invaluable online guides.

Please note that to view these resources you will need to install the Microsoft Silverlight plugin. This can be installed on Cardiff University managed XP workstations from Networked Applications (Networked Applications, General Software, Internet, Web & Email, Plugins, Silverlight Installer)